What: There is a small subset of individuals who cycle between emergency rooms, hospitals, detox, and other crisis health services. Known as the 5:50 population, these are the 5 percent of beneficiaries who represent 50 percent of costs. These men and women have complex, co-occurring health conditions, limited support networks, and experience homelessness or persistent housing challenges. In a year, communities spend upwards of $60,000 per person in public resources on “band-aid” services that treat symptoms without improving overall health status, since they fail to address the underlying problems that lead to poor health. But there is progress in reversing this phenomenon and communities have started to tackle how to better initiate and integrate solutions that improve health, improve quality of life, and save public resources.

Specifically designed for funders, this webinar explored the intersection of health care and homelessness and the role philanthropy can play in establishing supportive housing as a cost-effective solution to one of our nation’s most pressing policy problems—rising public spending with poor outcomes for homeless individuals with chronic health conditions.